Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 59.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,427 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $287,644,000 after acquiring an additional 134,777 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Williams Companies by 185.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 27,987 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Williams Companies by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 16,027 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,937,000 after buying an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,740,024 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $110,126,000 after buying an additional 176,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

More Williams Companies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy and kept a lofty $83 price target, signaling continued bullish conviction from a major sell‑side firm. Morgan Stanley Upheld Buy Rating for The Williams Companies (WMB)
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target on WMB to $76, another sign of upward analyst revision that can support the stock over the medium term. Jefferies Raises Williams Companies Price Target to $76
• Positive Sentiment: US Capital Advisors increased its Q1 2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates (Q1 to $0.61; FY2027 to $2.49), which points to improving company earnings expectations and can lift forward valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks moved its rating from “strong sell” to “hold” — an upward revision but still cautious, suggesting mixed conviction among smaller analyst shops. Zacks Upgrade Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy‑sector momentum (XLE leadership, weather‑driven natural gas draws) is a macro tailwind for pipeline names like WMB, since higher gas demand supports volumes and tolling revenue — but sector earnings for majors have been mixed, keeping sentiment volatile.
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors also published a piece expressing a negative view on WMB’s FY2026 earnings outlook, which may temper enthusiasm from the estimate bumps and contributes to short‑term selling pressure. US Capital Advisors Negative View of WMB FY2026 Earnings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMB. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.64.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:WMB opened at $66.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $68.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.86 and a 200 day moving average of $60.41.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.25%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $498,700. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.